Wrapping of cigarettes and other articles



Dec. 2 4, 1940.

A. G. ROSE WRAPPING OF CIGARETTES AND OTHER ARTICLES Filed Feb. 2, 19402 Sheets-Sheet l Inventor A G R se DEC. 24, 1940. ROSE 2,225,888

WRAPPING OF CIGARETTES AND OTHER ARTICLES Filed Feb. 2, 1940 2Sheets-Sheet2 Inventor FIG .4. 5 AG. Rose.

Patented Dec. 24, 1940 UNITED STATES I 2,225,888 r WRAPPING orcrcnmrrrns AND omen ARTICL Alfred German Rose, Gainsborough, England,assignor to Rose Brothers (Gainsborough) Limited, Gainsborough, EnglandApplication February 2, 1940, Serial N 0. 316,957

In Great Britain January 30, 1939 17 Claims;

The invention relates to the wrapping of .articles such as a batch ofcigarettes and is concerned with the method of wrapping in which a tubeof greater length than the article and of cross-section corresponding tothat of the article is first formed by folding a wrapper blank of paper,foil, or like material, around the article itself or around a former,the edges of the blank are then secured to form a seam extendinglongitudinally of the tube, and the ends of the tube are then closed,after insertion of the article into the tube if it is not already there,by folding over the ends of the tube walls. For convenience indescribing the invention, a former about which the tube may be formed isincluded in the term article.

The invention is concerned with the operation of producing thelongitudinal seam and has for its object the formation of a seam of aparticularly high degree of air-tightness and by a method and apparatuswhich avoids damage to the article. The invention is also concerned withthe new or improved package resulting from the method of producing thelongitudinal seam.

In accordance with the present invention, a method of wrapping a batchof cigarettes or other articles comprises folding a wrapper of paper,foil, or similar material, of a width greater than the length of thearticle and of a length greater than the periphery of the article, aboutthe bottom and two opposed sides of the article, so as to leave a lengthof wrapper upstanding from each of said opposed sides, inserting alongitudinal web between the upstanding lengths of wrapper at theposition where the seam is to be, pressing the said lengths into theangles between the web and the article in such a manner as to cause thesaid lengths to fold over so that intermediate portions of the wrapperlie along the upper surface of the article and. the end portions lieagainst opposite sides of the longitudinal web in the form oflongitudinal flanges, withdrawing the web from between the flanges, withthe wrapper still held in the position into which it has been pressed,to allow the opposing faces of the flanges to be pressed together, andsecuring the flanges together by adhesive material to form alongitudinal seam upstanding from the article. The seam formed in thisway may then be folded down on to the wrapper.

Conveniently, the wrapper material is pretreated with an adhesivematerial of the kind which is normally inert but which may be renderedactive to cause adhesion by means of heat,

2 together.

and the securing of the flanges is brought about by nipping the flangestogether between a pair of heated surfaces. Wrapper material treated inthe above manner is referred to hereinafter as heat-sealing material. Anapparatus for 5 carrying the above method into effect may comprise meansfor folding a wrapper about the bottom and two opposed sides of thearticle leaving a length of wrapper upstanding from each of said opposedsides of the article, a longitudi- 1 nal web adapted to be moved intoposition on the article between the upstanding lengths of wrapper, meansfor pressing the said lengths into the angles between the web and thearticle in such a manner as to fold the said lengths over the articlewith their end portions lying against opposite sides of the web in theform of longitudinal flanges, means for withdrawing the web from betweenthe flanges while the wrapper is held in position by the pressing means,and means for securing the flanges together by adhesive material to forma longitudinal seam upstanding from the article. Means may be providedfor folding the longitudinal seam down on to the wrapper. The pressingmeans may be in 5 the form of a pair of presser members movable up tothe opposite sides of the web over the adjacent surfaces of the articleand each having a cross-sectional shape (e. g., having two faces atright angles if the web is perpendicular to the face of the article)which fits closely into the angle between the web and the article.Conveniently, one of the presser members performs the additionalfunction of folding the longitudinal seam down on to the article by afurther relative movement between the article and the presser member.

If the wrapper employed is formed from heatsealing material, the pressermembers preferably incorporate heating means. "0

When wrapping an article which is not selfsupporting, for example, abatch of cigarettes, it is preferable to employ a wrapper guidingmember, adapted to be moved into position on the article between thearticle and the longitudinal web, with an edge lying substantiallycoincident with each longitudinal edge of the article on the side wherethe seam is to be formed, the wrapper being pressed over the guidingmember to enclose it temporarily with the article. The guiding membermay be withdrawn before or after the flanges of the wrapper are securedThe use of such a guiding member prevents portions of the article frombecoming displaced during the pressing of the wrapper into 5 web '28 anda base portion '29. ffe'ach 'of the'f'sli'ding members I3 is secured to'a "bl'6ck 3 l 'sli'dably mounted in one'arm '32 of bell Y'crank'lever 33 pivotally mounted on the framewarm at 34, 'the'othr arm at ofthebellcrank lever being provided "with a cam roller '31 {tearin; again sttl'ie fae'of "a i'o ta jt'able' 'cfiin SWI'hOI'liltthe angles betweenthe web and the article due to the tendency of the wrapper to compressthe article under the influence of the pressing means, especially wherewrappers of substantial thickness are used. The guiding member may becombined with the longitudinal web to form a member of invertedT-section, which is conveniently made in two parts, each of T-sectio'nwhich are inserted in alignment with each other between the upstandinglengths of wrapper, one from each end of the article.

By way of example, the invention as applied to the wrapping of arectangular batch of cigarettes will now be described in greater detail.

with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which: 7

Figure 1 is a part-sectional elevation of part or a cigarette wrappingmachine employing apparatus in accordance with this invention;

Figure 2 is a part sectional end view of theapparatus shown in Figure 1viewed in the direction of the arrow shown in Figure 1 with certainparts removed for clarity of illustration;

Figure 3 is a further elevation of the apparatus shown in Figure 1showing the dispositions 'of various parts at a later stage in theoperation of the machine;

Figure 4 is an end view of part of the apparatus shown in Figure 3viewed in the direction of the arrow shown in Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a-perspective View of the package formed by the apparatusshown in Figures '1 to 4.

Referring to Figures 1 and 3, a batch l of cigarettes is prepared andpressed into a wrapper 7 blank 2, which is made of heat-sealingmaterial,

to fold the blank about the bottom and'two opposed sides of the batch I,by the machine described in British Specification No. 352,659.

The batch! of cigarettes in the wrapper blank 2 is carried in one of aseries of supports 3 (one only shown in Figure l) mounted ona chain 4which is carried by a sprocket 6 carried on a shaft "I mounted inbearings in the main framework 8 of the machine. The chain 4 is drivenintermittentlyand carriesthe supports 3 to'suc'cessive points in thewrapping machine where different wrapping operations'a're performed onthe batches of cigarettes'in the supports. -In- Figures 1 to 4the'su'pport 3is at rest at one of such-points.

Mounted for movement-in directions transverse'to the direction ofmovement of the 'sup- "port 3 is a pair of rods 9 slidably mounted intracks H attached to the framework 8 on opposite sides of the chain 4.Each of the rods 9 has attached to it, at one e'nd,=a housing 12' inwhich is mounted a sliding member 13, and at-the'other end a boss M onwhich is pivoted oneend of a link 16 having its other end pivoted on anarm l1 pivoted at IS on the framework a.

The arm ll is provided with a cam roller I9 bearing against the face ofa rotatable cam 2| mounted on'a-shaft 22. A spring attached to thehousing I2 and to-a post 26 secured to the framework 8 maintains contactbetween the cam roller l9 and the cam 2L The-upper ends of the slidingmembers-'13 are secured to members 21 a part of each of'which 'isofinverted T-'s'ection, having a longitudinal The lower end of -rollers 31of the arms 36.

.during, their movement towards each other. the-members TI-approach theend of their stroke '4 are two pairs of tracks 5| (one of each pair onlybeing shown in Figures 1 and 3) in each of which is mounted a slidingmember 52. Each sliding member 52 is caused to reciprocate in its tracks5! because of itsconnection by a link 53 to one arm 54 of a bell cranklever 56 which is caused to rock about a shaft 58 under the action of a:cam whoa-operating with a cam roller 6| carried by an arm 62 pivoted at63 and connected to the other arm 64 of the bell crank lever 56 by alihk65. A spring 66, connected to the arm 62 and the framework '8,maintains contact between thecam roller 9| and the cam 59.

A presser member 6'! is attached to each of the sliding members 52, thepresser members each having, two surfaces 68 and 69 disposedsubstantially at right-angles to each other to correspond with theangles between the web 28 and the base portion 29 of the members 21.Incorporated in each of the presser members 61 is an electric heatingelement H.

The mechanism associated with the presser members 6! is not completelyshown in each case. -As with the members 21, however, it will beunderstood that the presser members 61 are provided with similaroperating mechanisms working in synchronism.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows:

The-box 3 carrying the batch I of cigarettes already partially enclosedby the Wrapper blank 2, as shown in Figure 1, is brought to rest by thechain 4 in theposition shown in Figures 1 and 3. .The members 27 arethen moved towards each other between the upstanding lengths of thewrapper blank 2, by means of the rods 9 sliding in the tracks "ll underthe action-of the cams 2| co-operating with the cam rollers H3 in thearms l-1,-to the positions shown in Figure In this .position, thedistance between the outermost portions of the longitudinal webs 28 isslightly greater than the width of the wrapper blank 2.

-In order'to ensure that tha -members '21 move into position on thebatch l of cigarettes without damaging-the cigarettes, the slidingmembers I3 carrying themembers-Zl are caused to lift slightlyzduring'thesliding movement-of therods 9 by reasonof the connection of the slidingmembers I3:to'the'blocks =3| which are constrained to follow the tracksof the arms 32 of thebell crank levers 33, the tracks at thistime beingcaused to in'cline'upwardly towards each other under the action of thecams'38 cog-operating with the "cam This upward movement of the slidingmembers l3 causes the members 2'! to'rise clear 'of'the'batch l ofcigarettes As the=cams38' cause the arms 32 to move into hori- "zorital-'positions"to bring the membersZI d0Wn Tonto the top of the'batc'h I-ofcigarettes-as shown in Figure 4. The members f2! are-then caused todwell, under the action of the cams-2| and 38,

during which time'the sliding members 52 "are i'cause'd "tof'move'intheir "slides "5| towards each other by the rocking of the bell cranklevers 54 *under theaction of the cams 59 co-operatingwith the camrollers Bl onthe arms 6.2,.to carry the presser members 61 into theangles between the webs 28 and the base portions 29. L

During this movement of the'presser members 61 their lower surfaces 69move just clear of the upper surfaces of the base portions 29 and causethe upstanding lengths of the wrapper blank 2 to fold over so thatintermediate portions of the blank lie along the upper surfaces of thebase portions 29 and the'end portions lie against opposite sides of thelongitudinal webs 28, in the form of longitudinal flanges 16. i

As the presser members 61 approach the end of their stroke, as shown inFigure 3, the mechanism controlling the members 21 again comes intooperation to withdraw the members 21 along horizontal paths '(the arms32 of the bell crank lever 33 remaining horizontal during thewithdrawal) until they are clear of the wrapper blank 2 as shown inFigure 2, the presser members 61 continuing their movement towards eachother to press the longitudinal flanges 16 together to form alongitudinal seam H, the flanges being secured together by adhesionresulting from the heating of the flanges by the heated surfaces 68 ofthe presser members 61 The presser members 61 are then withdrawn clearof the batch I under the action of the cams 59 and associated mechanismand the chain 4 is then caused to move to carry the box 3 with thewrapped batch l to a further stage in the machine, during which movementthe longitudinal seam 11 is pressed down upon the upper surface of thewrapper by its contact with a presser member 61 (the righthand membershown in Figures 1 and 3) as the box 3 passes beneath that member to theposition shown in Figure 3. By the above operations, the wrapper blank 2is formed into a rectangular tube enclosing the batch I of cigarettes onfour sides and having a longitudinal seam formed in the middle of theupper surface of the tube. The batch l of cigarettes, wrapped in thismanner, is then moved to a further stage in the machine where the endsof the tube are closed.

I claim:

1. Method of wrapping a batch of cigarettes or other articles,comprising folding a wrapper of paper, foil, or similar material of awidth greater than the length of the article and of a length greaterthan the periphery the bottom and two opposed sides of the article so asto leave a length of wrapper upstanding from each of said opposed sides,inserting a longitudinal web between the upstanding lengths of wrapperat the position where the seam is to be, pressing the said lengths intothe angles between the web and the article in such a manner as to causethe said lengths to fold over so that intermediate portions of thewrapper lie along the upper surface of the article and the end portionslie against opposite sides of the longitudinal web in the form 'oflongitudinal flanges, withdrawing the web from between the flanges, withthe wrapper still held in the position into which it has been pressed,to allow the opposing faces of the flanges to be pressed together, andsecuring the flanges together by adhesive material to form alongitudinal seam upstanding from the article.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein the wrapper is formed fromheat-sealing material and the securing of the flanges is brought aboutby nipping the flanges together between a pair of heated surfaces.

3. Apparatus for wrapping a batch of cigarettes drawing the web from ofthe article, about or other articles, comprising meansv for folding awrapper about the bottom and two opposed sides of' the article leaving alength of wrapper upstanding from each of said opposed sides of thearticle, a longitudinal web adapted to be moved intoposition on thearticle between the upstanding lengths of wrapper, means for pressingthe said lengths into the angles between the weband the articlein such amanner as to fold the said lengths over the article with their endportions lying against opposite sides of the web in the form oflongitudinal flanges, means for withbetween the flanges while thewrapper is held .in position-by the pressing means, and means forsecuring the flanges together by adhesive material to form alongitudinal seam upstanding from the article. i

4. Apparatus according to claim 3, comprising means for folding thelongitudinal seam down on to the wrapper. v

5.- Apparatus for wrapping a batch of cigarettes or other articles,comprising means for folding a wrapper about the bottom and two opposedsides of the article leaving a length of wrapper upstanding from each ofsaid opposed sides of the article, a longitudinal web adapted to bemoved into position on the article between the upstanding lengths ofwrapper, a pair of presser members movable up to opposite sides of thelongitudinal web and each having a cross-sectional shape which fitsclosely into the anglebetween the web and the article so as to fold thesaid lengths over the article with their end portions lying againstopposite sides of the" web in the form of longitudinal flanges, meansfor withdrawing the web from between the flanges while the wrapper isheld in position by the presser members, and means for securing theflanges together by adhesive material to form a longitudinal seamupstanding from the article.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the presser members compriseheating elements.

'7. Apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the longitudinal web is madein two sections and means are provided for inserting the sections inalignment with each other between the upstanding lengths of wrapper onefrom each end of the article.

8. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the longitudinal web is madein two sections and means are provided for inserting the sections. inalignment with each other between the upstanding lengths of wrapper onefrom each end of the article.

9. Apparatus according to claim 3, comprising a wrapper guiding memberadapted to be moved into position on the article, between the articleand the longitudinal web, with an edge lying substantially coincidentwith each longitudinal edge of the article on the side where the seam isto be formed, the pressing means being arranged to press the wrapperover the guiding member to enclose it temporarily with the article.

10. Apparatus according to claim 5, comprising .a wrapper guiding memberadapted to be moved into position on the article, between the articleand the longitudinal web, with an edge lying substantially coincidentw'th each longitudinal edge of the article on the side where the seam isto be formed, the pressing means being arranged topress the wrapper overthe guiding member to enclose it temporarily with the article.

11. Apparatus for wrapping a batch of cigarettes or other articles,comprising means for folding a wrapper about the bottom and two opposedsides of the article leaving a length of .gitudinal web, the

.andmeans are provided wrapper upstanding from eachlof :said opposedsides of the article, a longitudinal web provided with a wrapper guidingmember which forms with the web a member of inverted T-section, saidT-section memberbeing adapted to be movedinto position on the articlebetween the upstanding lengths of wrapper with an edge of the guidingmember lying substantially coincident with each longitudinal edge of thearticle on the side where the seam is to be formed, means for pressingthe said lengths into the angles between the web and the guiding memberin longitudinal flanges, means for withdrawing the T-section member'from the folded wrapper while the Wrapper is hesive material to formalongitudinal seam up- 7 standing from the article.

12. Apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the pressing meanscomprises a pair of presser members movable up to opposite sides of thelonpresser members having a cross-sectional shape which'flts closely:into the angles between the web and the wrapper guiding member. v

13. Apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the pressing means compriseheating elements.

14. Apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the T-section member ismade in two sections for inserting the sections in alignment with eachother between the upstanding lengths of Wrapper one from each end of thearticle. i

15. Apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the longitudinal web isslidablymountedand cam such a manner as to fold said lengths overtheguiding member with their end portions lying against opposite sidesof .the web in the form of said lengths means are provided for movingthe web into and out of position on the article.

16. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein .the presser members areslidably mounted and cam means are provided for moving the pressermembers into and out of position adjacent the longitudinal web.

17; Apparatus for wrapping a batch of cigarettes or other articles,comprising means for folding a wrapper of heat-sealing material aboutthe bottom and two opposed sides of the article leaving a length ofwrapper upstanding from each of said opposed sides of the article, apair of inverted T-section members adapted to be moved into position onthe article in alignment with each other between the upstanding lengthsof wrapper one from each end of the article, a pair of heated pressermembers movable up to opposite sides of the webs of the T-sectionmembers to press the said lengths of wrapper into the angles betweensaid webs and the horizontal portions of the T-section members so as tofold the oyer said horizontal portions with the end portions of saidlengths lying against opposite'sides of the webs in the form oflongitudinal flanges, said T-section members and said presser membersbeing slidably mounted, and cam means for moving the T-section membersand presser members into and out of position, said cam means being soarranged that the T- section members are withdrawn from the foldedwrapper while the wrapper is held in position by the presser members andthe presser members are then caused to makea further movement to nip theflanges together to cause adhesion between the flanges to form alongitudinal seam upstanding from the article.

ALFRED GERMAN ROSE.

